Paris, Nov 6 (DPA) Police in the French city of Lyon were searching Friday for the driver of an armoured van who apparently made off with 11 million euros ($16.4 million) belonging to the Bank of France, French media reported.

The 39-year-old driver apparently simply drove off Thursday while the van’s two other guards left him alone when they stopped at a branch office of the security company they worked for.

The van, stripped of the 38 bags of bills it was carrying, was found several hours later in a Lyon suburb.

France Info radio reported that police believe the heist, one of the largest of its kind in France since 2000, had been meticulously planned. The suspect had drawn all the money out of his bank account and the refrigerator in his home was empty.